fishermen and shark attacks

There is something very wrong with the fishermen who were laughing at the situation they created. As though they were watching a video game and not real life. I tell you, if that was me who was bitten, or a loved one, I would make sure these guys got crucified. I would hunt down their identities and make it be known what they did. What a bunch of losers.

 

sometimes street people 'disguise' themselves as fishermen….

 

Yeah, I will have to read the whole article. I saw ZaGaff's post about it last week. I mean, if they are going for "big fish" then yeah, there is a way more responsible way to do it. But with that being said, go to any pier on the west coast and look at the pictures posted. They will all show pretty huge sharks that get hooked, sometimes by accident. Sharks were caught all the time at the OB pier. Its the city municipal. No license to fish there. Guys typically don't chum there, but it is what it is...

I shark fish on a somewhat regular basis now. I don't go for anything huge. The keepers (to eat) are about 4-6 feet down here. I have a spot that I go to that is basically a big shark hole. You have to wade through chest deep water even at low tide and basically swim all your gear out to a sand bar. And seriously, at low tide, it is common to snag one within 2-3 minutes of your first cast... But this is a remote area and there are no swimmers around...

But I also fish right in the surf too. Regardless of what you are fishing for, you can hook little sharks all day there. For instance, last sunday, after we hit the low tide hole, the tide filled in so we went down to the public beach. We found a spot about 200 yards from people. No chumming. We just use big chunks of mullet, walk out like waist deep and cast. Snag Black Tips all day long that way. In the summer, its common to be surfing right next to guys that are out waist deep casting right next to you. It is what it is. I don't take offense to it. Because believe it or not, even fishing for reds, or whatever, sharks will bite that hook.

Not saying what those guys are doing is right. But when you surf next to a municipal fishing pier, you are taking a risk. There could be hundreds of people, dropping rotten fish and blood in the water right next to you. THESE ARE FISHING PIERS. You can't blame people for "fishing" there. Even if they are going for something big. A lot of surfers fish, but that is the age old clash... Guys casting into the surf. Surfers getting pissed. Look at that spot on Long Island, the fisherman STOLE it from surfers, with legal grounds... In MOST communities, the fishing community, since they justify that it is their living, usually win the battle of who has more of a right to be there.

Im not mr. big game fisherman, but fishing for big fish off piers, especially out west is common place. I am always respectful and avoid people and I don't go for "huge" sharks, but sometimes, something bigger than you want to fu** with grabs that line, and you gotta do what you gotta do. I was nervous last week as a pod of dolphins rolled right through the shark hole while we had already casted out. I slowly, gently reeled in and asked my buddy, so WTF do we do if flipper accidentally bites down on the 3 inch hook? He said, if it fights, just cut the line I guess. I aint trying to snag a dolphin. Just saying, big creatures in the sea are likely to "take the bait"

 

Anyone have a better article link? That MSW sh** is retarded. 4 sentences, that explains nothing. I can't hear the audio on the video.

But my assumption is that he was NOT fishing for a whitey. And since it was juvenile, I am sure he didn't know it was a whitey. Probably thought it was a Mako, which are common there in the summer. They are everywhere. So, from a fishing standpoint, I don't have a problem with the guy trying to reel it in. Probably would have had to get it close and walk it into the beach anyway, right through the swim zone... Thats what people do. Thats what fishing is. If the dude was "laughing" about it, he should be castrated.... But as far as him fishing on the Manhattan pier, hooking a shark and trying to get it in. That is what he is supposed to do.

I mean, the shark was swimming right through the swim zone. Its not like he was out on a boat and dragged it through the lineup. He hooked it right out where everyone was swimming and reeled it in. The struggle probably induced the attack for sure... But There are sharks there, hungry ones, with or without fisherman.

 

They were laughing their heads off watching the shark go after the swimmers.

 

It was a shaky video and I have no audio here. But if that is the case, yeah they should be shot. That is not only irresponsible fishing, that is just being a waste of flesh. In the audio, did any of them mention that they knew what kind of shark it was?

 

They were laughing when it got close to the swimmers and they got scared. The mood got more serious when they realized it bit someone. Didn't not say anything about it being a white.
They were complete morons, but were not laughing at the dude when he got bit.

They were not targeting whites, that's just what took the bait.

 

Yeah, they were using sardines. They definitely weren't going for a big shark. Probably not a shark at all even. And the huffington post did a WAY more lengthy story I just read. From what the comment sections said, it said there were a bunch of voices, that sounded very young laughing and making comments. These were probably just teenagers, watching the show as they checked out a guy reeling in a shark. Tourists on July 4th weekend, getting a pretty special experience to watch. Just not realizing the severity.

If it was actually a group of fisherman, all they would have to do is grab the lifeguards and have them go out on the ski and clear the water. They would have made him cut the line once they realized it was a whitey, but the guards probably would have helped the guy drag the thing in if it was a big Mako or something...

I would have cut the line, regardless of the species once ANYONE got close to it. Unless it was a big ol leopard shark or something, which doesn't even resemble a white or Mako, I would have cut the line around people and then alerted the guards that there was a decent sized shark trolling out there.

 

At any rate, the sensationalist media just got a 60 day pier fishing ban in Manhattan beach through the end of summer. "Cause that is the issue"

 

I live in Manhattan Beach and have been following this closely. I can say with some certainty that they were not chumming. However based on some comments on the fisherman's FB page (since deleted) it does appear that he and his crew have been 'pier hopping' specifically looking for great whites. I agree that the fisherman are at fault but also LA County should shoulder some blame. Everyone in town knows that we have several juvenile whites in the area. I've seen a white at least 5 different times since Memorial Day in the water. I can't understand why there weren't some fishing restrictions in place until the sharks moved on (as they normally do in the fall).

 

Well, as we all know, even a deleted comment on social media is stamped online forever, so those guys should face some legal action if they were targeting whites in CA waters.

 

But even so, those fishing restrictions are a slippery slope. I am not too familiar with MB pier, but at a lot of the CA fishing piers, people are there on a daily, making a living and feeding their families. Some folks can't just go to more remote places when fishing piers are there, well, to fish from. There are whites in those waters most of the year, on and off.

Not sure where I stand on that. Not sure if they should make "swimming restrictions" or fishing ones. Cause if everyone had to stop fishing when there are sharks in the water, the whole world may as well retire their gear and get into a new line of work.

This is an extremely rare, almost unheard of scenario, filled with stupidity and irresponsibility. This was an incident brought on by an individual, acting irresponsibly. The fishing community as a whole may not be to blame.

 

Agreed that it is an odd case. However the fact that it is so widely known that there are multiple juvenile great whites taking up residency in MB something has to be done. Check out the Swellmagnet facebook page and read the super entertaining battle between the fisherman & his family vs. everyone else.
http://https://www.facebook.com/pages/Swellmagnetcom/340326115083?ref=br_tf

 

Being a commercial and recreational fisherman as well as surfer and diver for 23 years - lesson 1 -The ocean - eat or be eaten. lesson 2 - the ocean - eat or be eaten ....... that's all I have to say about that.

 

someday this forum will consist of content that doesn't involve sharks or other super scary stories involving the ocean.

until then I will continue to point out the fact that shark attacks, who dropped in on you, and newbie advice is annoying to read about every single day.

this forum is like watching the news, except there are no hot newscasters

 

You can't target great whites as they are considered a threatened species. You can hook one, but have to release it. Just like catching a small fish in NJ. You just just have to release it.
But how do you determine they were targeting whites? I hear they weren't chumming and using sardines for bait... Plus he's not using a rod/reel for reeling in a white.

They are complete douche bags for the way they handled the situation

 

Completely illegal to "fish for white sharks" in CA as well. As for the rules, I would have to look into the MB pier, but if it is a municipal fishing pier, you don't need a license to fish. That is the beauty of those piers and that is why they are so popular. You can't commercially sell the fish with out a c license, but piers like the OB pier, and MB I would assume are designated, non licensed fishing piers.

Again, I have never lived up in the LA area. Been to the MB pier, but never looked at the rules there.

CA is probably more strict than Jersey as far as their fishing laws because there are so many out of state people fishing there year round. In SD county it is common place to have your boat checked as soon as you get into the marina and it is also common to get ticketed, fined etc on any non municipal area.